Return of the Spider-Gwen
by darthhillboy
Summary: It's 2033. Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker are leading a semi-normal life when an old friend asks them for help.
1. Chapter 1

Story © 2019 Ryan Hill

Characters María Álvarez/La Fuerza and The Elemental © 2019 Ryan Hill

Gwen Stacy woke up to the sound of giggling coming from the next room. Groaning, she rolled over toward Peter.

"Peter, he's up." She mumbled. Getting no response, she tapped his shoulder.

"Hm?" Peter muttered as he was awakened. "Wutsit?"

Gwen yawned, then replied "He's up."

Peter groaned as he rolled to face her. "I can tell. Isn't it your turn?"

Gwen tried to think. "I took care of him Wednesday morning when he had a bad dream."

Peter propped himself up enough to look over Gwen at the clock on her nightstand. It read 3:35 am, 03/19/33.

"It's Saturday morning." Peter sighed as he lay back down. "I took care of him on Thursday, remember?"

Gwen nodded. "Right, I'll get him." She yawned again as she climbed out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts. She walked out of their room and into the next room, where she found a blonde three year-old sitting on the wall and trying to spit across his bed onto the floor.

"Benjamin George Parker." Gwen said as sternly as she could in her half-awake state, putting her hands on her hips as she spoke. "Get down."

Ben smiled. "On wall Mommy!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "I can see that. You need to sleep. Get down."

Ben giggled. "Sleep on wall!"

Gwen sighed. "No, you're not sleeping on the wall."

Ben put on his best pouting face and started crawling farther up the wall.

"Oh no you don't." Gwen stepped closer and fired a web at Ben, pulling him off the wall and into her arms. He squirmed as she set him down and tucked him in.

"Mommy…" Ben whined.

"You can climb on the wall in the morning." Gwen mumbled. She kissed Ben on the forehead, then walked out and closed the door behind her. She slipped back into the bedroom, where Peter shifted in bed to look at her.

"What was it this time?" He asked.

"Up on the wall again." Gwen replied as she climbed into bed next to him.

Peter chuckled. "You know, a decade ago I told you our kid would have powers."

Gwen smiled. "Yes you did." She gave him a peck on the lips.

Six hours later, Gwen was sitting on the couch reading a book, Ben was playing with Lincoln Logs on the living room floor, and Peter was drying his hands after rinsing his bowl. As he walked into the living room, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, and a moment later his face lit up.

"What is it?" Gwen asked, sitting up slightly.

"It's María." Peter replied as he sat down next to Gwen. "She wants to know if we can help her with a superpowered criminal that's been giving her some trouble."

Gwen closed her book and sat up straight. "Is she still in Del Rio?"

Peter sent a text. A moment later he got a reply. "No, she's in El Paso now." He looked at Gwen. "I'll tell her we'll get back to her?"

Gwen shook her head. "Ask how long she thinks she'll need our help for."

Peter nodded. A moment later he looked up and said "Not sure. At least a day or two. She's been dealing with this guy for two months now, so probably longer."

It was 6:30 pm when Peter parked in front of Aunt May's house. Gwen carried Ben inside while Peter brought a suitcase.

"Sorry about the short notice." Peter said as May let them in.

"Don't worry about it." May replied, closing the door behind them. "Let me know if you think you'll be gone more than a week." She said as Peter took the suitcase upstairs to the spare bedroom.

"Will do." Gwen set Ben down and knelt down in front of him. "Mommy and Daddy are going on a work trip. We'll be back before you know it. Aunt May is in charge while we're gone, okay?"

"Okay." Ben said before immediately wandering off.

May suddenly got a confused look on her face. "You said you're flying to Texas, right?"

Gwen nodded. "5:00 tomorrow morning. Only time we could get on such short notice."

May considered this. "So what happens if you get selected for a random search and they find your Spider suits?"

"They won't." Peter replied as he walked back down the stairs. "We mailed them to the address María gave us on the way here."

"Smart." May said with a chuckle.

"Yep." Gwen kissed Peter's cheek. "You raised him well."

Peter blushed and looked at Gwen. "I thought embarrassing me was May's job."

"It is." Gwen and May said together.

Peter rolled his eyes. "It's all a conspiracy." He said jokingly.

May shrugged. "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

They laughed. After a moment, May gave them each a hug, and then they turned and left.

It was 11:45 the next morning when their plane touched down in El Paso. Gwen and Peter got their bags from the luggage claim, then headed to the exit. Outside, the front passenger side door of a purple SUV opened and a familiar looking dark-haired woman got out.

Gwen and Peter stopped. "María?" Peter asked.

The last eleven years had been kind to María Álvarez. Now 25, she was about 5'8" and had the build of a gymnast. A large smile appeared on her face, and she rushed over to them.

"¡Qué bueno verte!" María exclaimed as she hugged Gwen, then Peter.

"You too." Peter replied.

"You look great." Gwen added.

"Thanks." María turned back to the SUV and waved for someone to come out. The driver side door opened, and a redhead woman around María's age got out and walked around the car to join them. She was a couple inches shorter than María, but had the same build.

"Guys, this is Katie, my girlfriend." María said. "Katie, this is Gwen and Peter."

Katie smiled and shook their hands. "María told me a lot about you."

"Hopefully not everything." Gwen replied.

Katie chuckled. "Well I do know that María is the only one of the four of us who's not dating a superhero."

Peter shrugged. "Well, you're not wrong."

María smiled. "There's a restaurant nearby we go to fairly often. How about we buy you guys lunch?"

"I think we'd like that." Gwen replied.

They climbed into the SUV, and Katie pulled out and started driving.

"So, how long have you two been dating?" Peter inquired.

"Almost four years." María replied. "We were roommates in college."

"How did it start?" Gwen asked.

"During our junior year my boyfriend and I broke up." María explained. "It was mutual, but it still hurt."

"She wanted to go out and get hammered." Katie added. "I convinced her to stay in the dorm and drink with me instead."

María nodded. "We watched Sleeping Beauty, and we were halfway through Cinderella and had just started a second bottle of wine when she kissed me."

Katie giggled. "I was so worried she'd push me away that I pulled away almost immediately, but…" She blushed lightly as her words trailed off.

María took Katie's hand and squeezed it. "I grabbed her and kissed her." She giggled. "One thing led to another."

Katie sighed. "The next morning we talked about it and decided to have it be a one time thing."

"Until that night when it happened again." María added. "After the third time-"

"Fourth." Katie corrected her.

María smiled. "Right. After the fourth night I asked her out."

"Best decision I ever made." Katie said.

A few minutes later they arrived at L & J Cafe and went inside. They got a table and ordered drinks, then looked at their menus. After a couple minutes, their waiter, Marco, returned with their drinks.

"Can I get you started with an appetizer, are you ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?" Marco asked.

"I think we're ready." Gwen said. The others nodded.

"What can I get for you?" Marco asked.

Gwen double checked the menu. "Can I get a bacon cheeseburger with nothing extra?"

Peter chuckled. "Some things never change."

Marco tapped on his tablet, then looked at Peter. "¿Señor?"

"I'll do the steak burrito." Peter said. "Hold the onions please."

Marco nodded and looked at Katie.

"I think I'll get the chicken tacos." Katie said.

Marcos tapped on his tablet. "¿Señora?" He asked María.

María nodded. "¿Puedo tener enchiladas de carne molida?"

"Por supuesto." Marco replied with a smile as he took their menus, then turned and walked away.

"Show off." Gwen muttered before immediately bursting into laughter. The others laughed as well.

Once Marco was gone, Peter leaned forward and asked "So who's this powered criminal you've been dealing with?"

María took a sip of her lemonade. "They call him the Elemental."

"His powers?" Gwen asked.

"He controls the 'elements.'" María replied, making air quotes. "Earth, air, fire, water."

"He's basically the Avatar." Katie added.

Peter chuckled. "Just what we need. An evil Avatar."

María leaned forward. "He doesn't work alone. He's robbed banks and other places with a team. I'm not sure if any of the others have powers, because when I catch them he always stays behind to fight while they get away."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Of course he does."

Peter thought for a moment. "So is his 'airbending' like your telekinesis?" He asked María.

"Not exactly." María replied. "He uses it like a blunt instrument. He can push things and hit things and harness the air as a weapon, but it's not nearly as advanced as mine. I don't think he can do anything that requires precision."

Gwen thought for a moment. "Well, having several different powers would mean spending less time practicing each one."

Katie nodded. "That makes sense."

There was a long moment of silence, then Katie asked. "So how did you two get together?"

Peter leaned back. "Oh boy, here we go."

They chatted for a while before Marco returned with their food.

"Steak burrito, no onions?" He asked.

"That's me." Peter said. "Thanks."

Marco nodded and set down the plate. "Chicken tacos?"

Katie put a hand up. "That would be me."

"Ground beef enchiladas?"

María smiled. "Gracias Señor."

Marco smiled back, then turned to Gwen. "And the bacon cheeseburger."

Gwen nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"De nada." Marco replied. "Enjoy." He turned and walked away.

They finished their lunch, then drove to María and Katie's apartment. Hours later, they were playing Cards Against Humanity when María got a notification on her phone. Her eyes widened, and she quickly used her phone to turn on the TV.

"...today. Eyewitnesses report that the gunmen were led by the man known as the Elemental." The news anchor was saying. "They are believed to have gotten away with over $500 million in cash."

Gwen looked at Peter. "Back to work."


	2. Chapter 2

Story © 2019 Ryan Hill

Characters María Álvarez/La Fuerza, Jonah Marcus/The Elemental, Javier Martinez/Hammerclaw, Laura Anderson/Night Fox, and Brian Owens/Blackout © 2019 Ryan Hill

At 9:30 the next morning, Gwen and Peter came out of the kitchen and bathroom respectively wearing their Spider suits under their clothes. They entered the living room to find María wearing a flat purple outfit with a black symbol of chaos on the front and back.

"Wow." Gwen said.

"You look great." Peter added.

María beamed. "Gracias."

Katie put a hand up. "I helped her with the design, but that much purple was her idea."

"Well, it goes with your eyes." Peter commented.

"Is that the symbol of chaos?" Gwen asked, pointing at it.

María nodded. "I'm a fuerza de la naturaleza - a force of nature. Nature is chaotic."

Peter shrugged. "Makes sense to me."

There was a moment of silence, then Gwen asked "So what's the plan?"

María sighed as she put a pair of pants and a shirt on over her costume. "The Elemental often strikes several times in a short period of time. We should go downtown and see if he tried anything today."

Katie sat down at the computer desk and woke up their computer, then pulled up a map of the area. "Right now it's about a three minute drive or a ten minute walk downtown."

"Okay." María replied. "We should probably drive."

Katie opened a drawer and pulled out a touchscreen police radio scanner. "Did you guys bring earbuds?" She asked.

"Shit." Peter smacked his thigh. "I knew we forgot something."

"That's alright." Katie pulled out several sets of earbuds and handed a pair to María. "We have a crapload of them." She gave two pairs to Gwen, who handed one to Peter.

"So, you're like María's girl in the chair." Peter said.

Katie thought for a moment. "Basically, yeah." She pulled up a video from the news report.

"A group of armed men robbed the United Bank of El Paso today." The anchor said. "Eyewitnesses report that the gunmen were led by the man known as the Elemental. They are believed to have gotten away with over $500 million in cash. At this time, no one is known to have been hurt."

"Should we start at the bank?" Gwen asked. "Or is that kinda pointless since they'd be stupid to go back there?"

"Probably pointless." María replied, grabbing her car keys. "We can always find somewhere to park and go from there."

Katie looked at the map. "Here. There's a parking lot on the corner of East Missouri Avenue and North Mesa Street. Two blocks Northwest and two blocks Southwest of the bank."

María pulled up the map on her phone. "Found it."

Peter opened the map on his phone as well. "Why are there so many churches in El Paso?"

María chuckled. "You should see the other side of the border. Same thing. Apostolic, Christian, Catholic, Pentacostal, all within a mile of each other."

Gwen chuckled. "And people think we're so different."

"You guys should get going." Katie said. "I'll update you when I get more info."

Gwen, Peter, and María headed outside and got into the purple SUV. A few minutes later María pulled into the parking lot. They removed the clothes from over their suits and put on their masks. María's was the same shade of purple as her super suit that covered the top half of her head. She pulled a snake camera out of the glove compartment and tucked it into her mask. The trio got out, and Peter looked around and commented "Not a lot of tall buildings."

"Yeah, sorry about that." María said with a shrug. "If you want somewhere high up to perch and keep an eye out, there's a government office right there," She pointed to a tall white building nearby. "But the Tax Office is probably the best option."

"Lead the way." Gwen replied.

María rose into the air and flew off. Gwen and Peter fired webs and followed her. Soon they landed on the roof of the Tax Office and took in their surroundings.

"Hey guys." Katie's voice said in their ears. "How's the view?"

"See for yourself." María turned on her camera. "Is it working?"

"Yep." Katie replied. "There's a couple pictures of you guys on social media. Sooner than I expected, but whatever."

Over the next few hours, the trio took turns patrolling the area while Katie kept tabs on social media, police communications, and the news. At one point Peter stopped an attempted mugging, but otherwise it was uneventful.

Around 3:30, they were taking a break when Katie exclaimed "Guys, I got something. Cops just got a call. Three armed men and a woman just entered the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and went upstairs."

"How tall is the building?" Peter asked as he fired a web to follow María.

"14 stories." Katie replied as Gwen and Peter swung around a tall, skinny building with a green roof and over Texas Ave before landing on the roof of a shorter white building.

"We need a plan." María said.

"I'll start at the top and work my way down." Gwen said as she and Peter fired webs and swung up to the roof of an L-shaped building next to the Postal Service building. "Peter, you start at the bottom and go up. María, overwatch. Hover outside and keep an eye out."

"Copy that." María said.

The web slingers ran across the L-shaped building. They fired webs and launched themselves up to the roof of the government office building María had pointed out earlier. Reaching the other side, they saw the hotel a couple blocks away diagonally, but there were no tall buildings between it and the building they were on. Acting on instinct, they fired webs at the edge of the roof, backed up, and slingshotted themselves over a city block and onto the Kalavera Culture Shop, a shorter building next to the hotel. Gwen swung up onto the hotel roof, Peter swung down to the ground and went in a back entrance, and María hovered about halfway up the building, scanning the windows for movement.

"First floor clear." Peter reported.

"Fourteen is clear." Gwen said a moment later.

María slowly moved around the building, continuing to watch the windows.

"Floor two clear." Peter said. "Every room has an open door."

"Thirteen's clear." Gwen said.

María continued scanning the windows while Peter and Gwen checked more floors. After several long minutes, movement at the edge of her vision alerted María. She looked closer and saw three people searching a room they had just broken into. The left the room, and a minute later they burst into a room on the next floor up.

"I see them!" She exclaimed. "They finished checking the fifth floor and just started on six!"

"Copy that. On my way up to five." Peter replied.

"Heading down to ten." Gwen said.

Peter raced up to the sixth floor, stopping to slow his breathing. He carefully opened the stairwell door and peeked out. About a third of the way down the hall, a Mexican man stood in the hallway, holding an assault rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest over a gray t-shirt. A moment later two more men and a woman came out of a room and walked across the hall. The man that appeared to be the leader wore a dark green trench coat, the third man wore a navy blue hoodie, and the woman wore a camo jacket. The group walked down the hall to the next room, and the man in the green trench coat used telekinesis to break down the door. This time the three men went inside to search room while the woman stayed outside. Peter waiter until her back was to him, then quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, but she immediately spun on her heel and aimed her rifle at him.

"Guys!" She shouted. "Spider-Man is here!"

"Very funny Night Fox!" A man's voice shouted from inside the room.

Night Fox rolled her eyes. "See for yourself!"

The men returned. The one in the navy blue hoodie aimed his rifle at Peter. The one in the green trench coat stepped forward with a surprised look on his face.

"I'll be damned." He put his hands on his hips. "It is Spider-Man."

"You must be the Elemental." Peter said.

The man nodded. "That's me, but you can call me Jonah. What the hell are you doing in El Paso?"

Peter shrugged. "Vacation. Happened to be in the neighborhood when you started...whatever you're doing here."

Jonah chuckled. "It's funny you should mention that, because we're going to continue what we're doing, and if you come any closer we'll open fire."

Peter sighed and put his hands behind his head. "Fine."

Jonah and the man in the gray t-shirt resumed checking rooms while Night Fox and the man in the blue hoodie kept their guns trained on Peter. After the fourth room, Jonah walked across the hall to the fifth, and when he broke this one down he was greeted by several gunshots, one of hit him in the torso. He stumbled back and took cover while the man in the gray t-shirt returned fire with his rifle. Peter heard several rounds hit something squishy.

A moment later, several things happened in less than ten seconds. At the other end of the hall, Gwen stepped out into the hallway and fired a web at Jonah. Night Fox reacted faster than humanly possible, grabbing shoulder and pulling him out of the way. The man in the gray t-shirt turned to aim at Gwen, but a second web from her snatched the rifle from his grasp. Peter fired two webs in quick succession, one at Night Fox and one at Jonah. Night Fox pulled out a knife and cut the first web half a second after it hit her. The second web missed Jonah and hit the forehead of the man in the blue hoodie. Peter yanked hard, making the man fall on his face. Night Fox fired a round at Peter, who leapt up and stuck to the ceiling to avoid it. Outside, María used her telekinesis to grab Jonah and Laura's guns and pull them out the window of the hotel room they had just fired into, then floated into the room through the window. Peter dropped to the ground.

Seeing María, Jonah charged at her, tackling her out the window and into a pool on the roof one floor down. María instinctively formed an air pocket around her before impact and when they hit the water it sounded like a 50-foot tall person open-palm slapping another 50-foot tall person.

Inside, Night Fox shouted "Blackout, now!"

The man in the blue hoodie rose to his feet and snapped his fingers. A second later all power in the building went out, along with Gwen, Peter, and María's earbuds. Peter heard the sound of something flying through the air at him and dropped to the floor, but the knife still grazed his left shoulder. There was a loud noise that sounded like a boulder breaking through the floor, and Night Fox and the two men dropped through a hole in the floor. There were four more identical sounds. Peter and Gwen jumped down the holes, but when they reached the ground floor and ran outside the group was gone. A moment later María landed next to them, panting.

"I've fought him before, but never hand-to-hand." She explained. "He is very strong, and fast."

"Did you see where they went?" Gwen asked.

María shook her head. "Nothing."

"We should head back." Peter said. "I think Blackout fired an EMP."

The moment they opened the door to María's apartment and stepped inside, María was practically tackled by Katie.

"You're okay!" Katie exclaimed, hugging María tightly. "Everything cut out all at once! I freaked out because I thought there had been an explosion."

"Estoy bien, está bien." María assured Katie, rubbing her back. "We think it was an EMP."

"I was scared I lost you." Katie kissed María, then hugged her again. "Te quiero."

"I love you too." María said softly.

They hugged for a moment, then Katie laughed.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking at Gwen and Peter. "I'm glad you guys are okay too."

Gwen chuckled and looked down, then back at Katie and María. "It's alright, we've had more than our fair share of those moments."

Peter nodded. "I wish I could say you get used to it."

After discussing what happened, María donned her super suit and brought the footage from her snake camera to the police.

The next morning, they turned on the news to see if there were any updates.

"Violence broke out at the border last night, and for once, it did not involve Mexican immigrants." The anchor said. "Two American border guards were killed when they confronted a group of criminals attempting to flee to Mexico. A pair of Mexican guards were also killed when they fired on the criminals' vehicle after it broke through the barrier. Additional footage supplied to the police by the superhero vigilante La Fuerza shows the criminals breaking into a man's hotel room and gunning him down after he fired at them in self-defense. The victim has been identified as Damien Wallace, a retired US Army Colonel." A picture of a black man in an Army uniform appeared on the screen. "The group activated some sort of EMP that allowed them to escape. According to La Fuerza, one of the criminals, the man known as The Elemental, referred to himself as 'Jonah,' but his identity is not currently known. Mexican law enforcement has identified one of the men as Javier Martinez, a former Mexican Federal Police officer." A picture of the man in the gray t-shirt appeared. "Martinez was declared MIA and presumed dead two years ago when a drug raid he was a part of resulted in a shootout and ended with an explosion that destroyed the entire house. The identities of the third man and the woman are not yet known, but according to La Fuerza they were referred to as 'Blackout' and 'Night Fox'. More on this story as it develops."

Peter sighed. "Looks like we might be here a while."

"We'll have to go into Mexico." María added. "You guys brought your passports, right?"

Gwen nodded. "Yeah, I made sure of it."

Katie perked up. "Wait, that means I'm coming with, right?"

María smiled and kissed Katie on the forehead. "Sí. No te voy a dejar atrás."

"Yes!" Katie pumped her fist. "I'll go get changed." She left the room.

Gwen and Peter looked at María. "Changed?"

María shrugged. "Sometimes she comes with to help in person."

Katie returned a few minutes later wearing an orange mask that was otherwise the same as María's and tan t-shirt that said "My better half is a superhero" in bold black letters. She had a light gray hoodie hung over her arm.

María blushed lightly when she saw the t-shirt. "That shirt? Really?"

"Really." Katie replied. "I'll change shirts if you go somewhere out of costume."

María sighed. "Alright. Let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

It was 7:43 pm when Katie got in line at the US-Mexico border crossing at Stanton Street. While they were waiting, María's phone vibrated. She pulled it out, and her eyes widened.

"What is it?" Katie asked as she pulled ahead.

"I have a few contacts in Mexico." María replied. "One of them just told me the American and Mexican governments have approved a joint task force to go after The Elemental. They're setting up combined units in El Paso and Juárez. Checkpoints, mobile strike teams, the works."

Katie considered this. "Should we contact la policia when we get across? Let them know there are superheroes in town?"

Peter leaned forward. "Is that a good idea?"

María looked back at him and Gwen. "Mexicans are just as divided as Americans when it comes to superheroes, but the police are mostly on our side. Have you heard of the Conquistador?"

Gwen and Peter shook their heads.

"He was a superhero in Mexico City in the 2020s." María explained. "He's also the reason you don't hear about the cartels very much anymore."

Gwen blinked. "He took them all down?"

María shook her head. "He's the reason but not the cause. He never went after them directly, I'm assuming he had a family he wanted to protect. Whatever the reason, he mostly stick to saving people. In 2026, a woman fell off a 17th floor balcony and he caught her. What he didn't know was that she had been planning to betray the cartel she worked for. They found out and threw her off the balcony. He took her to the police station, wished her luck, and went back to saving people. Four days later the cartel boss and five of his men gunned the Conquistador down three blocks from the Mexico City Police Department. The next day his identity was revealed to everyone: Roberto Pascal, a school teacher in Mexico City. He had kept his identity hidden by not increasing his activity when school was out. Five hours later President Rivierez addressed the entire country."

María pulled up a video on her phone and handed it to Gwen, who held it up so Peter could see.

"My friends," Rivierez said. He was speaking Spanish, but there were English subtitles. "We lost a hero yesterday. Roberto Pascal, who you knew as the Conquistador, was a vigilante, yes, but he never so much as put a hand on a police officer unless he was saving them. I am here today to speak to the men and women who police this country. I wish to speak to those of you who have lost your way, who have helped the cartels. Those of you who have taken bribes, looked the other way, smuggled contraband, tipped off criminals when a raid was being planned, or even just pretended not to recognize the drug lord in the car next to you."

He paused for a moment, then continued, his voice now softer.. "I am willing to forgive all of it. Everything. Come forward, confess your crimes. Tell us everything you know about the people you worked for. Do this, and I will personally ensure you are not punished for your crimes and that you are allowed to continue being a police officer. If you do not come forward and we discover you are corrupt during the investigation, you will be punished to the full extend of the law."

"Guys, we're next." Katie interrupted.

Once they crossed the border, Katie kept driving while Gwen and Peter resumed the video.

"If any cop who comes forward and confesses is abused, attacked, or otherwise mistreated, those responsible will answer to me." Riviera was saying. "This country has been soft on cartels for too long. That ends now."

The video ended, and Gwen handed the phone back to María.

"About 16% of the police force came forward and confessed within a week." María said. "It took them a month to get all the information sorted and distributed. They sent the US government information on cartel members in America. It took 15 months for the Mexican government to bring every major cartel and more than half of the smaller ones to their knees. The remaining cartels were left nothing but scraps to fight over. Since then they've tried to make a comeback, and they are still a threat, but they're shadows of their former selves."

"Cool." Peter said.

"So where are we going?" Gwen asked.

"My cousin, Fede." María replied. "He lives in Santa María."

Peter considered this. "Cool."

A few minutes Katie parked outside an off-white house, and María got out and knocked on the door. A man in his 40s opened the door and smiled.

"¡María, qué bueno verte!" He exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

"¡Hola Fede!" María said. "¿Cómo has estado?"

"Estoy bien, gracias." Fede replied. "Has crecido mucho."

María smiled. "Lo sé. ¿Dónde están Miguel y Ana?"

"Están en la casa de sus amigos." Fede looked past her at the SUV. "¿Vienen tus amigos o son tímidos?"

"Deben estar esperándome." María turned and waved for the others to join her. "Vamos!"

Gwen, Peter, and Katie got out and walked over.

"Fede, esta es mi novia Katie y mis amigas Gwen y Peter." María said, gesturing to each of them in turn. "Guys, this is my cousin, Fede Ramirez."

They exchanged greetings and went inside. A Mexican flag hung above the couch, along with a blue and white striped flag with a sun in the corner.

"¿Qué bandera es esa?" Gwen asked, pointing at it.

"Uruguay." Fede replied. "My home."

"Our abuela was born there." María added.

"My kids are spending the night at their friends' house." Fede said. "I would offer you their rooms, but the beds are too small. You are welcome to take the living room. We have a few sleeping bags in the closet."

"Gracias." Peter said.

The next morning, Gwen the others sat at the dining room table discussing their plan.

"One of my friends in the police said that two of his men saw a car matching the description of the Elemental's car, but it got away before they could get a closer look." María was saying. "They were spotted near Los Nogales."

Katie pulled up a map on the tablet she had brought with. "Right here." She said, setting it down so the others could see. "If it's them, there's a good chance they're staying close to the border."

Peter leaned forward. "So what's the plan?"

María shrugged. "We could check Los Nogales, but they've probably moved."

"I'm thinking we wait until we get more information." Gwen said.

"Makes sense to me." Peter replied.

Two days later, they were taking a break when Gwen got a notification on her phone, so she checked it.

"Guys, I got something!" Gwen exclaimed.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"Katie, check Channel 10 News in El Paso." Gwen said.

Katie pulled up the news on her tablet and set it on the coffee table.

"Investigators found a flash drive hidden behind a painting in Col. Wallace's room." The anchor was saying. "The drive contains several videos, and we're going to play the one containing his confession."

A picture-in-picture video appeared next to the anchor, showing a black man in his 60s.

"My name is Colonel Damien Wallace, US Army, retired." He said. "Two and a half years ago I was honorably discharged, but I wasn't ready to retire. If you're watching this, I'm either dead or in custody."

Wallace paused for a moment. "I pulled a lot of strings and broke a few laws putting together a team of superpowered mercenaries with the goal of tackling missions the military aren't authorized for. This drive contains footage recorded without their knowledge to ensure the truth will be known if we are captured and any of them try to pin their share of the blame on me or one of the others. They all signed contracts and accepted the risks willingly, and were not threatened or coerced."

"Tía María, ¿quién es ese hombre?" A boy's voice behind Gwen interrupted. She and the others turned and saw Ana, Fede's 11-year old daughter, and Miguel, Fede's 7-year old son, leaning over the back of the couch and watching the video.

"Un coronel retirado del ejército americano." María replied.

"¿Sabe tu padre que estás aquí?" Gwen asked.

The kids turned red and ran off. Katie resumed the video.

"We started with six volunteers." Wallace said. "Jonah Marcus, Javier Martìnez, Laura Anderson, Brian Owens, Tetsuro Akagi, and Michelle Volero. Tetsuro, sadly, died during the empowerment procedure. He knew the risks and I am truly sorry that I couldn't save him. Michelle died six months ago when one of our clients tried to double-cross us. She saved myself, Laura, and Brian. I am forever in her debt. I am including videos of each of them demonstrating their powers."

He sighed. "I will not apologize for my actions, nor do I regret them. We eliminated terrorist cells, stopped assassinations, and rescued hostages. If my team continues to operate without me they are doing so against my orders. This drive also contains my last will and testament."

Wallace reached toward the camera, and the video ended.

"More on that story as it develops." The anchor said. "In other news, Gover-"

Katie closed the news app.

A couple hours later they were playing Monopoly with Fede, Ana, and Miguel when María's phone rang. She excused herself and stepped out of the room to answer it. A few minutes later she returned with a look of disbelief on her face.

"What is it?" Katie asked.

"The mercenaries evaded the Federal Police in Puente del Bravo." María replied. "That was a few minutes ago. Just now they were spotted turning onto Blvd. Oscar Flores."

Katie quickly pulled up the map on her tablet. "They were heading east and turned north." She swiped up on the map. "The border!" She exclaimed.

Gwen and Peter frantically grabbed their stuff and shoved it into their bags. "Vehicle description?" Peter asked.

"Red Jeep." María replied, then turned to Fede, Ana, and Miguel. "Adios. Lo siento, tenemos que irnos tan pronto." She said as she quickly hugged them goodbye. "How long until they reach the border?" She asked Katie as the four of them walked out of the house.

Katie tapped her tablet a couple times. "40-45 minutes, depending on traffic."

"How long will it take us?" Gwen asked as they climbed into the SUV.

Katie tapped her tablet. "About 30 minutes." She handed it to María, then started driving.

32 minutes later they made it through the checkpoint at I-110. Katie pulled into a nearby parking lot, where the others took off their outer clothes, put their masks on, and got out. They made their way back toward the border crossing, but as they approached they heard gunfire off in the distance, followed by the crunching of cars getting hit. María rose into the air and flew ahead while Peter and Gwen used webs to launch themselves over the checkpoint and onto the bridge. María saw a red Jeep plowing through traffic, an invisible force pushing cars out of its way. One car was thrown off the bridge, and Gwen caught it with webs and hung it from the bridge before it could land in the Rio Grande. Peter landed behind the Jeep and fired webs to slow it down, but they were severed as if a giant invisible knife had cut through them. María landed in front of the Jeep and used her powers to lift it a couple feet off the ground, but several other cars were suddenly pushed toward the edge of the bridge, and María was forced to drop the Jeep to catch them all, allowing it to get away. Several American and Mexican soldiers appeared from behind and inside the checkpoint and fired at the Jeep, but several balls of fire launched from it knocked them back and set some of them ablaze.

"Katie, call an ambulance!" María shouted.

"On it!" Katie replied.

With the Jeep gone, Gwen, Peter, and María helped get the people out of the cars Gwen had left hanging from the bridge, then went around checking on everyone else to make sure they were okay. A few minutes later four police cars, two fire trucks, and almost a dozen ambulances arrived. The cops initially aimed their guns at Gwen, Peter, and María, but they explained the situation and were eventually allowed to leave. They returned to the parking lot, and 18 minutes later they arrived at María and Katie's apartment.

Hours later, Gwen lay awake, her mind still racing from recent events. Next to her, Peter suddenly groaned and woke up. He rolled over to face Gwen and rubbed his eyes.

"What time is it?" Peter yawned.

"2:20." Gwen replied, rolling onto her side to face him. "What woke you up?"

"No idea." Peter mumbled. "You?"

"I didn't fall asleep." Gwen admitted.

Peter took her hand in his and squeezed it. "What's up?"

Gwen sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I'm still getting used to all this again."

Peter considered this. "Could be. This is the most active we've been as superheroes since Ben was born."

Gwen thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it, yeah, it is." A small smile appeared on her face. "You know what else we've barely done since then?"

"What?" Peter figured it out immediately after he spoke. "Oh. That."

"Yeah." Gwen threw a leg across Peter, who rolled onto his back as Gwen straddled him. "That."

Peter chuckled. "That would be very nice right now."

"I agree." Gwen replied, taking her shirt off before kissing Peter.

Gwen woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty." Peter said softly.

Gwen smiled. "Good morning to you too."

"How did you sleep?" Peter asked.

"Great." Gwen replied. "After we finished talking."

They both laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

Story © 2019 Ryan Hill

Characters María Álvarez/La Fuerza, Katie Evans, Jonah Marcus/The Elemental, Javier Martinez/Hammerclaw, Laura Anderson/Night Fox, and Brian Owens/Blackout © 2019 Ryan Hill

Gwen and Peter walked out of the guest bedroom the next morning to find Katie sitting at her computer with earbuds in and María making waffles.

"Mmm…" Peter sighed. "Smells really good."

María smiled. "Gracias."

"Any word on the mercenaries?" Gwen asked.

"Nothing yet." Katie replied, taking out an earbud. "While we were in Mexico, SWAT and the National Guard set up a perimeter around downtown El Paso and the surrounding area."

Gwen and Peter walked over to the computer and looked at the map.

"Which part?" Peter asked.

Katie pointed at the map. "Based on what I've heard, they've sealed off an area north of the border, south of Interstate 10, west of Highway 54, and east of Santa Fe Street. Every vehicle in and out of there is stopped and given a quick search."

"What are the red dots?" Gwen asked.

"Confirmed checkpoints." Katie replied.

"How do you have all this info?" Peter asked. "The police scanner?"

Katie shook her head. "We have friends in the Guard. They gave us temporary access to restricted frequencies that police scanners can't access."

María walked over and kissed Katie on the cheek. "Breakfast is ready."

Katie smiled, then her eyes suddenly widened. "Hold on." She said, putting her other earbud back in and listening intently. While Peter and Gwen sat down at the table, Katie clicked on the map and typed something. A new red dot appeared on the map. Katie stood up and whispered something in María's ear that made her turn bright red, then the two of them walked over to the table and sat down.

After breakfast, the quartet got ready and drove downtown. They found a place to park, and Katie pulled out her tablet, which now had a thick case, while the others put their masks on and got out. María rose into the air, and Gwen and Peter fired webs and swung after her.

The trio searched the area thoroughly over the next couple hours and found nothing. They returned to the SUV, Katie drove to another area, and they began searching there. Again finding nothing, they returned to where they had parked. Katie got out of the SUV in her mask to greet them, but as they approached, Night Fox suddenly appeared from the bushes, grabbed Katie from behind, and held a knife to her throat. Katie yelped, and María ran forward, stopping short when she saw the knife. Jonah, Hammerclaw, and Blackout came out from behind bushes, a nearby dumpster, and another car, their pistols drawn but aimed down.

"We don't want to hurt her, or you." Night Fox said. "But we will."

Gwen could see María actively fighting to keep her emotions in check as she said "Let her go."

"Absolutely." Jonah took a step forward. "After we talk." He holstered his pistol held out a hand.

María took a deep breath and unclenched her fists. "What about?"

"We have no beef with you." Jonah looked at Gwen and Peter. "You probably hear that a lot."

Peter nodded. "You have no idea."

"We just want you to back off until we get out of El Paso." Jonah explained. "That's all."

"I can't promise that." María said.

"Then we have a problem." Jonah looked at Night Fox, who made a very small cut on Katie's throat.

María inhaled sharply, clenching her teeth. "Let. Her. Go. I'm not saying it again."

"Not happening until you back the hell off." Jonah drew his pistol.

"You know what?" Katie asked. "Screw this." Opening a panel in her tablet case, she pulled out a gun of her own and aimed it at Night Fox's head. María raised her arms, using her powers to steady Katie's aim. Hammerclaw and Blackout raised their sidearms in response.

"Boss?" Blackout asked.

"Hold fire." Jonah said, turning to Katie and aiming his pistol at her. "Are you really gonna kill her if it comes to it?"

"Honestly, no." Katie admitted, shifting her aim from Night Fox's head to her knee. "But I have no problem with busting her kneecap."

Night Fox's eyes briefly widened. "Careful now." She hissed, pressing the flat side of the knife blade against Katie's chin.

"Ditto." Katie replied, pressing the barrel of her pistol against the top of Night Fox's knee.

Peter stepped forward. "Okay, how about this; let her go, and we'll let you walk away."

Jonah shook his head. "Not good enough. We want your word you'll let us get out of El Paso."

"Boss, wait." Hammerclaw interjected. "How do we know we can trust them even if they agree?"

Jonah groaned. "Shit, you're right."

"Then we take her with us until we get out of town." Blackout suggested.

Anger appeared in María's eyes. "You'll leave here in a body bag before you leave with her."

Jonah shook his head at Blackout, then turned to Peter. "Fine. We'll let her go, and you let us walk away."

Peter looked at Gwen, who nodded, then at María, who closed her eyes and took a deep breath before also nodding.

"Alright." Peter turned back to Jonah. "Deal. Let her go."

Jonah nodded to Night Fox, who released Katie. Katie immediately spun around, keeping the mercenaries in front of her as she backed toward Gwen, Peter, and María. Jonah signaled the others, then turned and led them around a building. Hammerclaw, taking up the rear, kept an eye on Gwen and the others until he disappeared behind the building.

As soon as the mercenaries were gone, Katie turned around. María waited for Katie to put her gun back in the tablet case, then embraced her tightly.

The next day, Gwen was sitting on top of the government office building when she heard Peter in her earbuds.

"Guys, I think I see the mercs!" He exclaimed. "Parking ramp, 122 North Kansas Street!"

"On my way." Gwen turned and dove off the roof, firing a web at another building and swinging down the street.

"Me too." María said.

"I'll meet you guys there in case you need a ride." Katie added.

A moment later Gwen reached the roof of the El Paso Tax Office and looked down at a seven story parking ramp that was across the intersection diagonally.

"Hey Gwen." Peter said. "Look to your right."

Gwen looked and saw Peter on the roof of a parallelogram-shaped building two buildings away. "Marco."

Peter chuckled. "Rubio."

"Pollo." María said. "I see you both. I'm to your northwest."

Gwen and Peter looked and saw María on the roof of a shorter building on the opposite side of the parking ramp.

"Katie, what's your ETA?" Gwen asked.

"Five minutes." Katie replied. "Maybe six."

"The Elemental's Jeep pulled into the ramp a few minutes ago." Peter explained. "Haven't seen them since."

"The parking garage exits onto a one way street." Katie said. "If they get away they'll be driving into a line of mobile roadblocks four blocks away on East Missouri Ave."

"How far down to the roadblocks go?" María asked.

"Seven blocks to the southwest including this street." Katie replied. "East Missouri is also a one way, so they'll have to go left if they don't wanna drive against traffic."

"Meaning they'll be driving past the other roadblocks?" Peter asked.

"Exactly." Katie confirmed.

"I'll start at the bottom." Gwen fired a web and swung down, perching on the side of the parking garage between the first and second floors.

"I'll start up top." Peter said as he swung down and landed on the roof above the ramp to the upper level.

"I'm on overwatch." María rose up and hovered over the building.

A couple minutes later Peter broke the silence. "I found the Jeep on Level 6. No sign of the mercs yet."

"Copy that." Gwen crawled up to the third level. Movement caught her eye, and she saw someone in a camouflage jacket disappear behind a pickup truck. "I think I see them. Third floor."

"On my way." Peter replied.

"I'm two minutes out." Katie added.

Gwen heard an engine start, and a moment later a blue minivan backed out of its parking space and drove toward the exit ramp.

"Blue minivan heading for the exit." Gwen reported.

"On it." María replied.

"Guys, I'm here." Katie informed them as she pulled over next to the parking garage.

Gwen crawled around the outside of the parking garage until she could see the exit. A moment later the minivan drove out, and María floated down in front of it before it could pull out onto the road. She saw Night Fox in the driver's seat. María raised her hands as if to say "Don't move," but an invisible force shoved her out of the way. The van pulled out, turned left onto N Campbell St, and sped off. Katie pulled out and drove after them, María flew after them, and Gwen and Peter fired webs and swung after them. Four blocks ahead, a police car blocked anyone from crossing Interstate 10.

"I'll cut them off." Peter said, cutting left two blocks before the roadblock.

"Copy." Gwen landed on Katie's SUV.

The minivan slowed down to the speed limit as it approached the roadblock. A police officer held up a hand for them to stop, but Night Fox turned left and floored it. María and Katie followed suit, María cutting the corner by flying over a building. From atop the SUV, Gwen fired a web at the van, but Night Fox swerved and the web hit a light pole instead. As they drove past the third intersection, Peter swung around the corner ahead of them and fired a web net at the van's front windshield. In the passenger seat, Jonah made a swatting motion with his hand, and an invisible force sent Peter flying into a parked pickup truck.

"Peter!" Gwen shouted, clamping a hand over her mouth and mentally kicking herself for using his real name.

María, now directly over the van, used her powers to shove it, but she couldn't muster enough force while she was levitating herself. The sun roof opened, and Blackout fired a pistol up at her. María deflected a couple rounds that came close, but one hit her left side and sent her spinning out of control. Unable to regain control in time, she wrapped herself in a cocoon of telekinetic energy half a second before crashing into the same hotel they had previously encountered the mercenaries in.

A moment later a National Guard LAV pulled out in front of the minivan. Night Fox slammed on the brakes, but it was too late, and the minivan broadsided the LAV at 65 mph. Katie stopped the SUV half a block away, and Gwen hopped down and ran toward the crash. The minivan was totaled, but the LAV was barely dented. As Gwen approached, one of the van's less damaged doors opened, and Hammerclaw and Blackout climbed out. Jonah and Night Fox joined them a moment later.

"Freeze!"

None of them had noticed the three National Guardsman who had exited the LAV and were aiming their rifles at Gwen and the mercenaries. A fourth Guardsman opened a hatch on top of the LAV and did the same. Gwen put her hands behind her head, and the mercs reluctantly did the same. Hearing tires screeching behind her, Gwen turned and saw a second LAV and three police cars stopped just behind Katie's SUV. Four more Guardsman and six cops got out of the vehicles and advanced toward them. Jonah looked at Blackout, who snapped his fingers. Gwen could practically feel the EMP as it passes harmlessly through her and knocked out all electric power in a radius that seemed to end just after it hit all the cops and Guardsman. A couple Guardsman winced, tapped their radios, and spoke into them, but it was to no avail.

"On your knees, now!" The Guard captain shouted, aiming at Jonah's head. His name tag identified him as Reynolds.

Jonah smiled. "Go ahead and shoot. Do you know who I am?"

"Yes I do." Captain Reynolds replied. "And I'll put you down just like anyone else if you don't get on your knees now."

"Alright." Jonah knelt down and put a hand on the ground. There was a brief rumbling, then a fire hydrant burst. A torrent of water slammed into the Guardsman and police reinforcements, knocking them down and causing one cop to hit his head on the edge of the sidewalk. Captain Reynolds fired, and the bullet stopped two inches from the top of Jonah's head.

"Engage!" Reynolds shouted, firing again.

Gwen took cover behind the minivan just as the other three Guardsman opened fire. Blackout rose into the air and flew away, Night Fox rolled to the side, and Jonah used telekinesis to block the shots. Hammerclaw made fists, his fingers fused together, and spikes came out of his elbows. He crossed his forearms in front of him, and several bullets bounced off of them. Gwen fired a web, hitting Hammerclaw in the back, then pulled on it and yanked him off his feet. Recovering, he got to his feet and charged at her. Gwen jumped over him, but he quickly turned around, nearly hitting her with a punch as she landed. She deflected his second punch and tried to kick his legs out from under him, but he backstepped and punched her in the side. Ignoring the pain in her ribs, Gwen ducked under one punch and redirected another so it passed in front of her, but forgot about his elbow spikes until he pulled his fist back and a spike sliced her side just above her waist. She gritted her teeth and lashed out with a kick, but Hammerclaw blocked it with his left arm and used his right elbow spike to stab her in the thigh. Gwen cried out in pain and fell to her knees. She tried to get up, only to feel three slashes across her back. She looked up defiantly, only to see Hammerclaw's fist a split second before he punched her in the head. She fell back, her head hit the ground, and the world went dark.


	5. Chapter 5

Story 2019 Ryan Hill

Characters María Álvarez/La Fuerza, Katie Evans, Jonah Marcus/The Elemental, Javier Martinez/Hammerclaw, Laura Anderson/Night Fox, and Brian Owens/Blackout 2019 Ryan Hill

Gwen Stacy woke up in a hospital bed and was surprised by how little pain she was in. Sitting up, she put a hand on her head and felt a decent sized bump.

"Shit." She groaned, leaning back.

A few minutes later the door opened and a woman stepped inside.

"Miss Stacy, I'm Dr. Warren." She said. "You can call me Elizabeth or Liz."

"Where's my suit?" Gwen asked.

"Right there." Elizabeth pointed to a cloth bag on the floor. "It's been cleaned, but there's nothing we can do about the holes."

"Oh. Thanks." Gwen thought for a moment. "Have you told anyone?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "María would never trust me again if I did. Everyone who helped treat you and your friends was someone María and I trust."

Gwen considered this. "How bad is the damage?"

Elizabeth tapped on the tablet she was carrying. "One rib cracked, two bruised, shallow laceration on the right hip, stab wound to the right thigh, three lacerations across the back, and a mild concussion with exclusively external swelling."

"Sounds about right." Gwen mumbled. "How long have I been here?"

"About five hours." Elizabeth replied. "You'll need to stay at least a day or two, but you're welcome to see your friends. If you don't think you can walk I can always them come to you."

"Let me see." Gwen turned and slid her legs over the side of her bed. She tried to stand up, but a sharp pain in her right leg changed her mind. "Nope, not going anywhere yet."

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll be right back." She turned and walked out. A few minutes later she returned to let Peter, María, and Katie in. Peter had his left arm in a cast and several small cuts on his face, María had a bandage on her left hip and was using a crutch on that side, and Katie was uninjured. Peter rushed over and hugged Gwen with his good arm. Gwen squeezed him tightly.

"You okay?" Peter asked as he pulled back.

Gwen nodded. "I will be. What happened to your arm? All I remember is you getting thrown into a car."

"Dislocated shoulder." Peter chuckled. "Plus a few cuts and bruises."

Gwen looked at María. "You okay? I'm not even sure what happened to you."

"I'm doing better, gracias." María replied, sitting on the edge of the bed. "One of them shot me when I was over the van. It's hard for me to concentrate on flying and stop bullets at the same time."

Katie put hand on María's shoulder. "Está bien. Todo el mundo tiene límites."

María smiled at Katie and put a hand over hers. "Gracias, mi amor."

"Does anyone have any ideas on what to do next?" Peter asked.

Gwen shrugged. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna be here for a day or two."

"Same here." María replied.

"I'm here overnight, but odds are I can leave in the morning." Peter said.

"We have no idea where they're headed." Katie added. "I'll keep my ear to the ground though."

There was a knock at the door. "Ma'am?" Dr. Warren's voice asked. "There's an Officer Levy and a Captain Reynolds here to see you and your friends."

Gwen looked a María.

"They know." María said.

Gwen nodded. "Come in." She called out.

The door opened, and Captain Reynolds stepped inside, followed by a brown-haired woman in a police uniform.

"This is Gwen and Peter." María said. "Guys, this is Dillan Reynolds and Mia Levy."

"Your secrets are safe with us." Mia assured them.

"Everyone okay?" Dillan asked.

They nodded.

"What happened to the mercs?" Gwen asked.

"They stole a car and drove off before we could stop them." Mia replied. "We gave the vehicle's description to every officer and the National Guard but so far there's been no sign of them."

Dillan nodded. "They broke through our inner perimeter but not the outer one, so we know they're somewhere in El Paso."

Katie sat down next to María. "We'll be here for a couple days. Can you let us know if the mercs are spotted during that time?"

Dillan nodded and handed Katie his phone. "Once you get out, let us know if you find them before us."

Katie entered her number and handed the phone back. "Will do."

Two days later the quartet returned to María and Katie's apartment, and the next day they went out to look for the mercenaries. On the morning of the fourth day, they were getting ready to head out when Katie's phone vibrated. She checked it and let out a small gasp.

"Qué es?" María asked.

"An off-duty cop spotted four people who look like the mercs at Memorial Park." Katie replied. "They're in plain clothes, but the officer compared them to the pictures that were sent out and it's a match."

Peter emerged from the bathroom in the middle of pulling his shirt down over his Spider suit. "How far is that?"

Katie pulled up the map on her tablet. "Nine, ten minutes."

Eight minutes later Katie parked in a round parking area on the south side of the park. They all put on their masks, then Gwen, Peter, and María got out while Katie pulled out her tablet, which was in its thick case.

"Where were the mercs sighted?" Peter asked as the trio walked into the park.

"First sighting was in a parking lot near a playground on the east side." Katie replied. "They've been slowly moving west, and right now they're over by the main brick area."

"I know where that is." María said. Looking at Gwen and Peter, she added "Go left and right. Come at them from the northeast and northwest."

"On it." Gwen and Peter said together as she went right and he went left. Once they had circled around far enough, they stopped. Standing behind a tree, Gwen peeked out and saw the mercs wearing plain clothes. Jonah had a brown baseball cap and Night Fox wore sunglasses, but Gwen had no trouble recognizing them.

"I see them." Gwen said.

"Ditto." Peter replied.

"Guys, we have a SWAT team less than five minutes out." Katie informed them. "National Guard will be here in ten."

"We have to get everyone out of here." María said, rising into the air and floating towards the mercs, who quickly noticed her, as did a dozen other people nearby.

"Jonah Marcus!" María shouted. "You and your team stay put! Everyone else needs to get out of here!"

Most of the people quickly left, but a Japanese family stayed where they were and talked amongst themselves, seemingly confused. Seeing this, a man in a black t-shirt turned and jogged back over them. He spoke to them in Japanese, and after a short discussion they hurried away from the brick area. As the man turned and followed them, Gwen noticed he had a weapon in an ankle holster. Once they were clear, she turned her attention back to the mercenaries and saw Jonah with his hands on his hips giving María a look of pure, unfiltered annoyance.

"Really?" Jonah asked. "The one day we decide to lay low and try to relax and you just have to come after us?"

María shrugged indifferently. "Not my problem."

Jonah sighed. "Look, we're not armed. Just let us walk away."

María took a deep breath. "We both know I can't do that."

Jonah shrugged. "Yeah, I knew you were gonna say that." He thrust his arms toward María, hurling a dense ball of air at her. María reacted reflexively, catching the ball and redirecting it into the ground near Blackout, who was thrown into the air by the impact but caught himself before he hit the ground. He snapped his fingers, causing an EMP that knocked out Gwen, Peter, and María's earbuds. Blackout immediately looked up and took off, but Peter managed hit him with webs before he did and yanked him back down. Blackout tumbled through the leafy top of a tree, rolling when he hit the ground. Night Fox threw a knife at Peter, but Gwen caught it with a web and hurled it at Hammerclaw, who made a fist and blocked the knife with his arm.

Jonah pulled a large ball of dirt out of the ground, uprooting a tree in the process, and hurled them both at María, who caught them and threw them back. Jonah swatted them aside, conjured a fireball, and threw it. María flew right to dodge it, but Jonah launched himself into the air and tackled her, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Meanwhile, Gwen fired several webs at Night Fox, who cut them with a pair of knives before throwing one at Gwen, who dodged it. Hammerclaw charged at Peter, who leapt out of the way and fired webs at Hammerclaw's back, stopping him in his tracks. Before Peter could follow up, Blackout flew in and snatched him up, carrying him a short distance before throwing him down. Peter managed to web a pair of trees in time to slow his fall and soften the landing. At the same time, Gwen ducked under a knife slash from Night Fox and tried to kick her legs out from under her, but Night Fox jumped over the kick and countered with a punch that Gwen blocked.

Nearby, María delivered a telekinetically-enhanced kick to Jonah's side and knocked him down, but he lashed out with a burst of air that sent her flying across the street and crashing into a tennis court north of the park's northeast corner. He leaped after her, and she brought her arms down in a downward swatting motion, causing Jonah to lose his forward momentum and fall straight down, landing at the edge of the tennis court.

In the park, Peter ducked under a punch from Hammerclaw and jumped back to avoid the follow up slash from his elbow spike. Catching movement in at the edge of his vision, Peter turned and saw Blackout just in time to leap up and over him, kicking Hammerclaw in the process, then kick Blackout in the back to throw him off-course and send Peter higher. Curving in the air, he fired a web at a tree branch and used his momentum to swing around it. At the bottom of the arch, he kicked Hammerclaw in the chest and sent him flying back.

At the same time, Gwen jumped over a slash from Night Fox and landed on the side of a tree, where she fired two webs half a second apart. Night Fox ducked under the first one before it hit her head, only to have the second web hit her ankle. Gwen pulled hard, causing Night Fox to fall on her back. Gwen leaped off the tree and over her opponent, but Night Fox pushed her hips off the ground, holding herself up with her upper body like a gymnast and delivering a lightning-fast kick to Gwen's abdomen. Gwen grunted and twisted in the air, but couldn't aim her webs before she hit the ground.

Nearby, Hammerclaw quickly recovered and got up, but several gunshots suddenly rang out, two of them hitting him in the back. He dropped to his knees, and Peter turned to see the man in the black t-shirt kneeling behind the uprooted tree with the gun from ankle holster. After a moment, Hammerclaw grunted in pain and stood back up, giving them a better view of the bullet holes and revealing body armor under his shirt. Peter raised his arm to fire a web, but Blackout suddenly tackled him while Hammerclaw turned and advanced on the man with the gun, crossing his arms in front of his head to block several more shots. The man ran out of ammo, and before he could finish reloading Hammerclaw reached him and swung, forcing the man to roll out of the way. Hammerclaw swung again and hit the man in the shoulder, but before he could throw a third punch four more gunshots suddenly rang out. The first shot missed, the second hit Hammerclaw in the back of the knee, the third hit the small of his back, and the fourth missed. Hammerclaw fell to the ground, clutching his knee and roaring in agony. Gwen and Peter turned and saw Katie in cover behind a tree with her mask on and her gun drawn. The man with the gun reloaded and moved towards Hammerclaw, stopping at a safe distance and keeping his weapon trained on the fallen mercenary.

"I'll keep an eye on him!" The man shouted to Gwen and Peter, never looking away from Hammerclaw. "Stay down." He advised the mercenary. Hammerclaw groaned in pain and flipped the man the bird.

In the tennis court, María caught a fireball from Jonah, trapped it in an airtight sphere, and drained the air in less than a second, extinguishing the flame. She countered with a telekinetic punch that Jonah blocked. He swung his arm in a gesture that looked like a dramatic "come here," and María braced herself for an air attack, but it never came. Instead, she heard the sound of water flowing, followed by something breaking. She turned around and saw a building that she immediately realized was an indoor pool because a massive water sphere had broken through the wall and was rising into the air. María whipped around and accelerated toward Jonah, but the Elemental dodged the charge, removed a smaller ball of water from the massive one, and slammed the small one into María, who was unable to recover in time to stop herself from hitting the ground.

Back in the park, Gwen felt a blade open a shallow cut in her shoulder as she unsuccessfully tried to dodge another knife slash from Night Fox. Ignoring the pain, she landed on her feet and spun like a ballerina, this time succeeding in kicking Night Fox's legs out from under her. Gwen wasted no time closing in and kicking the female merc's knives away before placing a foot firmly on her abdomen.

"Stay down." Gwen said firmly. "Only warning."

Night Fox snorted. "Or what? You'll kill me?"

Gwen moved her foot from Night Fox's torso to her neck. "I won't have to."

Giving a sarcastic smile, Night Fox moved inhumanly fast and pulled out yet another knife, this time from her boot, but Gwen webbed her wrist to the ground before she could lash out with it.

"I warned you." Gwen gritted her teeth and pressed down on Night Fox's throat to choke her. After barely 20 seconds, a man's voice suddenly shouted "Freeze! Everybody stand down!"

Gwen webbed Night Fox's other wrist to the ground before turning and looking over her shoulder to see two 6-member SWAT teams advancing on the superpowered combatants from the northwest and southwest, over a dozen police cars forming a perimeter around the park, and some of the police officers moving in to backup SWAT. One of the SWAT teams was led by Captain Reynolds. Seeing all this, Blackout rolled his eyes in disgust and turned to fly away. Captain Reynolds and two other SWAT officers fired their rifles, but only managed to hit Blackout in the leg as he flew away. Reynolds lowered his weapon, then he and another SWAT officer approached Hammerclaw and the man standing over him while Peter leaned against a tree and watched.

"You called?" Reynolds asked.

The man nodded. "Officer Jack Wells. This was supposed to be my day off." He said, never taking his eyes off Hammerclaw.

"Thanks for that." Reynolds replied. "We can take him if you wanna take a minute."

"I'd appreciate that." Wells sighed. "My shoulder is killing me."

Reynolds and the other officer cautiously approached Hammerclaw, but the merc suddenly rolled to the side and ended up right next to Wells. Before anyone could react, Hammerclaw made a fist, extending his elbow spike, then stabbed Wells in the shin. Wells gasped in pain, and Hammerclaw tripped him and pulled him down, using him as a human shield.

"Back off." Hammerclaw snapped. "I don't want to kill him but I w-"

He was interrupted by several gunshots. Peter and Captain Reynolds looked up and saw Officer Levy and her partner, an Asian in his 30s, firing on the mercenary from behind. Most of the shots hit the ground or his back, but one went through the right side of his head behind his ear and came out through his left cheek, killing him.

Gwen, now sitting down and leaning back against a tree, watched all this while another pair of SWAT officers finished cuffing Night Fox and got her to her feet.

"That's three." Reynolds said. "Where's the Elemental?"

Gwen cursed under her breath. "María!"

In the tennis court, María dove out of the way as water sphere slammed into the ground where she had been, then scrambled to her feet and rolled to the side to dodge another one. She used her powers to throw herself across the tennis court and avoid a third, but the fourth one hit her full force and knocked the wind out of her.

"Enough!" Jonah shouted as he floated closer. "Back off! This doesn't have to end badly!"

María finished gasping for breath and snapped "You're right about that." Remembering a time over a decade earlier when Gwen and Peter had taken her to a pool, María created a tiny airtight ball in the center of Jonah's still massive water sphere. She unclenched the fist she was making, flicking her fingers outward, and the air bubble grew to twice the size of Jonah's water sphere in less than a second. The mercenary was caught off guard and sent tumbling to the ground by the impact of the bubble hitting him. Jonah shook his head and rose into the air, only to see a mixed group of cops and SWAT advancing on him. They opened fire, and Jonah blocked most of the shots, but a few got through his defenses, hitting his body armor and grazing his arms. Realizing he was outmatched, the Elemental turned and flew away. Her adrenaline gone and exhaustion hitting her, María dropped to her hands and knees and gasped for breath. Hearing her name, María looked up and saw Katie running towards her, and she chuckled to herself before collapsing.

That night, the quartet returned to María and Katie's apartment. After dinner, they went to the living room and turned on the news. After a bit, an image of Memorial Park appeared behind the anchor.

"A fight between superheroes Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, La Fuerza, and the group of mercenaries exposed by the late Colonel Damien Wallace ended with police intervention. Javier Martínez, known as Hammerclaw, was killed by police, while Laura Anderson, known as Night Fox, was injured and taken into custody. Jonah Marcus, aka The Elemental, and Brian Owens, aka Blackout, are still at large and are believed to have fled El Paso. Anyone who spots them is advised to contact authorities immediately."

Gwen sighed and put her head on Peter's shoulder. "So what happens now?"

"We did the best we could." María said. "Gracias por tu ayuda."

"De nada." Peter replied.

The next day, Gwen and Peter stepped out of the airport to find a familiar looking car waiting for them. The door opened, and May and Ben got out.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Ben shouted, running over to Gwen and Peter as fast as his small legs could carry him. Gwen held her arms out and picked him up when he reached them. The three of them hugged, and Gwen smiled. It was good to be home.

Cast:

Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman

Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man

Dafne Keen as María Álvarez/La Fuerza

Sadie Sink as Katie Evans

Alden Ehrenreich as Jonah Marcus/The Elemental

Jay Hernández as Javier Martinez/Hammerclaw

Emily Browning as Laura Anderson/Night Fox

Scott Eastwood as Brian Owens/Blackout

John Boyega as Captain Dillan Reynolds

Daisy Ridley as Officer Mia Levy

Dave Bautista as Officer Jack Wells

Oscar Isaac as President Pablo Rivierez

Marisa Tomei as Aunt May

Elle Fanning as Dr. Elizabeth Warren


End file.
